NAACP plans to fight vote merger: Polling site change draws debate

Published: Thursday, July 10, 2014 at 04:57 PM.

The Cleveland County branch of the NAACP plans to fight a voting precinct merger passed along party lines this week by the Cleveland County Board of Elections.

“In the wake of the (board’s) decision to merge precincts in the city of Shelby, the Cleveland County Branch NAACP has contacted the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and its legal team,” Cleveland County NAACP President The Rev. Dante Murphy wrote in a statement to The Star and other media outlets. “We will be led by them as we continue to fight this very serious issue.”

So what is the issue?

Murphy, who is also pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, argued that merging precincts causes confusion among voters, who might not know where to vote. In North Carolina, a ballot cast in the wrong precinct doesn’t count.

“Any time you are reducing precincts, just the change alone is going to produce some confusion,” he said. “If people are really interested in protecting the right to vote, we ought to be creating more precincts.”

The reasons presented by the board Tuesday for the merger included convenience, indoor voting facilities, larger facilities and better parking.

The change will combine Shelby 6 and Shelby 7 at Holly Oak Park; and combine Shelby 1, 2 and 3 into one precinct at Shelby City Park.

Board member Allen Langley said Shelby City Park and Holly Oak Park are two better polling places, along a public transit route, where voters could stand in line indoors and have better handicapped access.

For board chairman Wayne King, the issue is about convenience for all the voters involved, since both parks have larger facilities and are already used for public events.

Doug Sharp, the lone Democrat on the board, voted against the merger.

Many of those who attended Tuesday's BOE vote were African Americans that spoke against the merger plan.

Merger history

The merger is the fourth for the county, which has already merged eight precincts to four.

In 2010, a merger was approved across party lines--this time by a Democrat-led bi-partisan board--to merge four Kings Mountain precincts into two.

Earlier this year, the board merged two precincts into a new Broad River precinct including Boiling Springs and two other precincts from the northern part of Shelby.

Additionally, the BOE has extended early voting for Cleveland County voters. All polling locations in the county will be open Oct. 24 through Oct. 31 from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. including an extra Saturday, Oct. 25.

‘Adverse effect on voting’

Murphy said the county NAACP would follow the leadership of the state NAACP and their legal team.

“I’m sure you’re all aware of the things they’re doing across the state in terms of the North Carolina legislature,” he said, referring to recent voting laws passed by the state that are being fought by the NAACP. “Their legal team will certainly assist us in putting together what we do now.”

The state legislature recently passed a new law with dozens of changes to voting, including requiring voters to present a photo ID, reducing the early voting period, and ending a program that allows students to register to vote before they turn 18, according to the Associated Press.

“Our legislation passed several laws including probably the most important, the voter ID law which we think is going to have an adverse effect on voting. So when you couple this with the other changes going on, that’s what we’re concerned about,” said Murphy.

He said “nobody ever mentioned race but board of elections members” and that the issue was not one of race, as portrayed in a New York Times article on the issue published Tuesday, but of voting rights. The recent voting law is, in his opinion, the most intense voting law in the history of the state, and probably in the history of the country, he said.

“This is something that needs to be fought across the state,” said Murphy.

Debate

The merger has generated debate among readers this week. Here's what a few had to say. Want to chime in on the conversation? Find 'The Shelby Star' on Facebook and click 'like.'

This is definitely voter suppression, and I'm proud to know that our local president of the NAACP took a stand in the matter. I'm now moved to vote in this election. Thanks Mr. Murphy, and all supporters who are against the merger.

Lillie Real

I'm baffled at the number of people who honestly think this is a good idea to lower the number of places to vote. How is it not common sense that doing so will make it harder to vote? Obviously many of you only support this idea because your party is the one pushing for it. If the other political party was pushing this idea, you'd likely be outraged.

Michael David Wall

If they can take the time to come to a meeting and complain, they can take the time to go to the polls and vote. Problem solved.

Bob Cabaniss

People who want to vote will vote whereever. They go everywhere else. This should not be a problem for anyone!

Linda Fitch Greene

We'll have to wait until the 2016 election to see what the turnout is like and how long we have to wait in line to vote before we'll really know the effects of this decision. The Star editorial was right, voter turnout is a big issue. We need as a community to figure out why voter turnout is so low and then work to find a solution.

Kathy Singer

Long lines? Really? Where? I haven't seen long lines at my polling place since 1992.

Freddy Wall

My concern is for the elderly, who have no driver's license, who can barely stand, much less stand in line, and who cannot sit for long periods in a car waiting for curbside voting. My 91-year-old mom is in this category: her mind is as sharp as a tack but with her failing health she just can't jump all these hurdles. There are many others like her.

Kathryn Hocutt Hamrick

Looking at the number of votes cast in Cleveland County, what difference is it going to make? Are the other 60-90 percent who aren't voting anyway suddenly going to show up at the polls??

Linda Johnson Cuthbertson

Those precincts in question have a large number of elderly people who have given their time , money, and life to the purpose of this city. They should be given more respect than this. The former movers and shakers in this city would have never let this happen, because they understood the importance of harmony and fairness. I give much respect to Coach Holbrook for taking a stand. It's to bad no one else had the guts to do the right thing.

Todd Jay Dorsey

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The Cleveland County branch of the NAACP plans to fight a voting precinct merger passed along party lines this week by the Cleveland County Board of Elections.

“In the wake of the (board’s) decision to merge precincts in the city of Shelby, the Cleveland County Branch NAACP has contacted the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and its legal team,” Cleveland County NAACP President The Rev. Dante Murphy wrote in a statement to The Star and other media outlets. “We will be led by them as we continue to fight this very serious issue.”

So what is the issue?

Murphy, who is also pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, argued that merging precincts causes confusion among voters, who might not know where to vote. In North Carolina, a ballot cast in the wrong precinct doesn’t count.

“Any time you are reducing precincts, just the change alone is going to produce some confusion,” he said. “If people are really interested in protecting the right to vote, we ought to be creating more precincts.”

The reasons presented by the board Tuesday for the merger included convenience, indoor voting facilities, larger facilities and better parking.

The change will combine Shelby 6 and Shelby 7 at Holly Oak Park; and combine Shelby 1, 2 and 3 into one precinct at Shelby City Park.

Board member Allen Langley said Shelby City Park and Holly Oak Park are two better polling places, along a public transit route, where voters could stand in line indoors and have better handicapped access.

For board chairman Wayne King, the issue is about convenience for all the voters involved, since both parks have larger facilities and are already used for public events.

Doug Sharp, the lone Democrat on the board, voted against the merger.

Many of those who attended Tuesday's BOE vote were African Americans that spoke against the merger plan.

Merger history

The merger is the fourth for the county, which has already merged eight precincts to four.

In 2010, a merger was approved across party lines--this time by a Democrat-led bi-partisan board--to merge four Kings Mountain precincts into two.

Earlier this year, the board merged two precincts into a new Broad River precinct including Boiling Springs and two other precincts from the northern part of Shelby.

Additionally, the BOE has extended early voting for Cleveland County voters. All polling locations in the county will be open Oct. 24 through Oct. 31 from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. including an extra Saturday, Oct. 25.

‘Adverse effect on voting’

Murphy said the county NAACP would follow the leadership of the state NAACP and their legal team.

“I’m sure you’re all aware of the things they’re doing across the state in terms of the North Carolina legislature,” he said, referring to recent voting laws passed by the state that are being fought by the NAACP. “Their legal team will certainly assist us in putting together what we do now.”

The state legislature recently passed a new law with dozens of changes to voting, including requiring voters to present a photo ID, reducing the early voting period, and ending a program that allows students to register to vote before they turn 18, according to the Associated Press.

“Our legislation passed several laws including probably the most important, the voter ID law which we think is going to have an adverse effect on voting. So when you couple this with the other changes going on, that’s what we’re concerned about,” said Murphy.

He said “nobody ever mentioned race but board of elections members” and that the issue was not one of race, as portrayed in a New York Times article on the issue published Tuesday, but of voting rights. The recent voting law is, in his opinion, the most intense voting law in the history of the state, and probably in the history of the country, he said.

“This is something that needs to be fought across the state,” said Murphy.

Debate

The merger has generated debate among readers this week. Here's what a few had to say. Want to chime in on the conversation? Find 'The Shelby Star' on Facebook and click 'like.'

This is definitely voter suppression, and I'm proud to know that our local president of the NAACP took a stand in the matter. I'm now moved to vote in this election. Thanks Mr. Murphy, and all supporters who are against the merger.

Lillie Real

I'm baffled at the number of people who honestly think this is a good idea to lower the number of places to vote. How is it not common sense that doing so will make it harder to vote? Obviously many of you only support this idea because your party is the one pushing for it. If the other political party was pushing this idea, you'd likely be outraged.

Michael David Wall

If they can take the time to come to a meeting and complain, they can take the time to go to the polls and vote. Problem solved.

Bob Cabaniss

People who want to vote will vote whereever. They go everywhere else. This should not be a problem for anyone!

Linda Fitch Greene

We'll have to wait until the 2016 election to see what the turnout is like and how long we have to wait in line to vote before we'll really know the effects of this decision. The Star editorial was right, voter turnout is a big issue. We need as a community to figure out why voter turnout is so low and then work to find a solution.

Kathy Singer

Long lines? Really? Where? I haven't seen long lines at my polling place since 1992.

Freddy Wall

My concern is for the elderly, who have no driver's license, who can barely stand, much less stand in line, and who cannot sit for long periods in a car waiting for curbside voting. My 91-year-old mom is in this category: her mind is as sharp as a tack but with her failing health she just can't jump all these hurdles. There are many others like her.

Kathryn Hocutt Hamrick

Looking at the number of votes cast in Cleveland County, what difference is it going to make? Are the other 60-90 percent who aren't voting anyway suddenly going to show up at the polls??

Linda Johnson Cuthbertson

Those precincts in question have a large number of elderly people who have given their time , money, and life to the purpose of this city. They should be given more respect than this. The former movers and shakers in this city would have never let this happen, because they understood the importance of harmony and fairness. I give much respect to Coach Holbrook for taking a stand. It's to bad no one else had the guts to do the right thing.